Today’s prompt suggested by Jason P: Directors who have roles in their own films. Who are your favorites? Are they better actors or directors?

The first that comes to mind for me is Kenneth Branagh. He blazed onto the screen as director and star of 1989’s Henry V. He returned in 1993 with Much Ado About Nothing. His co-star, Emma Thompson, won the raves. His supporting cast received mixed reviews. Nonetheless, the film was considered a success. Things grew wobbly with his indulgent film of Hamlet in 1996. And his career was nearly sunk by the dreadful musical adaptation of Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2000. It’s not a beloved play to begin with. And watching his cast stumble their way through Porter and Gershwin songs made it worse.